Recapitulation
by Shining Zephyr
Summary: **HIATUS** *E/C, RaiN, WinStet, HY* Sequel to Retribution. Horatio is awake after a two week coma in the aftermath of being shot, but problems have arisen. Ron has escaped, Miami is flooded, and another person the team knows is brutally murdered...
1. Interlude: Glimmer of Hope

**Welcome back, old readers! And to my new readers, I give you a fond and angst driven hello! I'm kind of back with the sequel to my slightly infamous angst/suspense story,** Retribution** and its interlude** Recollection.** Ladies, gentlemen, readers of all fandoms, I bring you...** Recapitulation.

**Remember the pairings: E/C, RaiN, WinStet -JuliaStetler for ye new people- implied HY**

**Nope, don't own it.**

* * *

1. Interlude: Glimmer of Hope

The rain hadn't stopped for days. It was now day twelve of a two-week rain shower, and Miami, Florida was nearly flooded from overflowing causeways and rivers and lakes. It was the area of disaster, and if you hadn't have lived there during that time, you would have thought it was the city of Atlantis resurfacing. Houses were nearly being flooded, people were fleeing to the upper-level counties in Florida, and residential police officers were making an attempt to keep order amongst hysterical residents that chose to stay. Nursing homes were being evacuated, and hospitals were soon to follow.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of hospitals and not a lot of evacuating personnel. And this made things only worse for the Miami-Dade team of Crime Scene Investigators.

It had been two weeks since Lieutenant Horatio Caine had gotten shot in the chest in a drive-by shooting on his former sister-in-law's porch. The day had been very quiet since an incident happened a week before the shooting. Horatio's medical examiner of the team and one of his closest friends, Alexx Woods, had been murdered on her own front porch. It was on that day as well that the lieutenant's son, Kyle Winston-Caine, had been kidnapped by his guardian Ron Saris. Ron had bad blood with Horatio after a number of run-ins with the law, and he had wanted to claim revenge on the Caine family. What better way than to take the father's son?

It certainly wasn't one of the better days that Ron had. The man had gotten a beat down of the most vicious kind and was the killer of Alexx. It was also on this day that he got arrested for both these crimes.

But you can't keep a sadistic serial killer down- only a week after Horatio was shot, Ron escaped from jail.

And that entire timeline brought you up to this very moment.

12:36 PM, Thursday afternoon.

Yelina Salas stared down at the picture on the table of herself, Horatio, and Raymond Caine, Jr. at the beach. The day had been nearly ten years ago, when Ray had been three years old. Tears slowly rolled down her face and she sniffled and wiped them away with the back of her hand. Mascara ran down like ooze, and she took a napkin from the table and wiped her cheeks, taking a deep shuddering breath. "I wish you could hear me right now, Horatio," she murmured, stroking the picture frame. "Everyone at the lab misses you with all their heart. The rain doesn't seem to want to stop. It's as if it's been crying these past days."

"Mom? Who are you talking to?"

The private investigator looked up from the table and saw her son Ray Jr. and Horatio's son, Kyle, standing at the table watching her. Kyle looked nervous, pawing his foot and averting Yelina's swollen eyes. The woman heaved a sigh, fingering her fingers and looking unsure of what to say. Finally, she told him softly, "I'm talking to Kyle's father. I know he can't hear me right now, but... I figured if I was going to talk to him, it may as well be to a picture. I can't talk to him in a coma- it feels too strange."

Kyle winced, feeling a singing sensation through his cheek where Ron had sliced him with a knife. "Do you know when he could wake up, Yelina?"

Now, the woman had to admit that she was still trying to get used to Horatio's son calling her by her first name. She shook her head, some brown curls falling in front of her face. "I can't say for sure. The doctors haven't given us any news about his condition since last week. Now, I know both you boys are worried about him and such, but don't worry. I know he'll come around soon enough." Even as she said this, it seemed as she was just trying to convince herself more than the boys in the room.

There was a clap of thunder outside. Ray looked out the window in disbelief. "Mom. The pool is flooding and is starting to come up to the window."

She looked to where he was pointing and felt fear wash over her body. Before she could begin instructing the boys on what to do to the items on he ground that could get water-damage, the phone rang. Getting up, she walked over and answered, "Hello?"

_"Yelina Salas?"_ an unfamiliar voice replied on the other end.

She frowned, motioning to the two cousins to begin picking up items and bring them to the second floor. "Yes? May I ask who is calling?"

_"I'm calling on behalf on the Miami-Dade Hospital. I'm Dr. Gitch, and I thought you would like to know that your brother-in-law Horatio Caine has just awoken from his coma."_

Yelina nearly dropped the phone in shock. Horatio was awake? As in, able to speak?

Oh, thank the heavens above. He was alive...

* * *

"Julia, cut that out!" the brunette teased, brushing her hand away lightly and taking a swig of his drink. "Listen, I gotta go to work for a bit. Being an Internal Affairs agent doesn't always come with vacation during floods and massive rains."

Julia Winston shook her head and smiled slightly at Rick Stetler's gesture of affection. They had now been together for two weeks, and they were hitting off better than Yelina and Stetler could have ever hoped for. The nights were long for the two of them as they both vented and spoke to each other about their different lives. They had already gone for it, and apparently, Julia had been due for a sonogram within the next couple of hours- seven, to be exact. Julia had made Rick swear to not come and make her more nervous than she probably would have already would have been, and he surprisingly obliged to her request.

As Stetler grabbed for his trench coat, Julia looked out the window as another roll of thunder was heard. The rain began to fall harder, small pieces of hail beginning to plunk own on the agent's car. She groaned and shook her head. "It had to start hailing now, huh?"

He landed a quick kiss on her cheek and winked. "Must be my lucky day to go to work, huh?"

"That's not funny," the blonde scolded lightly, giving him a gentle smack on the arm. "Be careful out there. The roads are flooded like hell."

Stetler raised an eyebrow before opening the door and allowing the rush of noise to fill the house. "Hell is full of fire, Jules, not water," he quipped before smiling and shutting the door.

Julia took out her cell phone and typed in the number of her son's cell. There were three rings until... _"Mom?"_

"Kyle," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "How are things going over at Yelina's? You think I could drop by today?"

His voice sounded bitter. _"It's bad over here in our part of the city. The streets are being completely overrun by the lakes overflowing, and we don't have any access to the back porch because the water could leak into Yelina's house if we open the door. I'd say no. You can't come by today. How're things with Rick?"_

"I thought you didn't like him."

Kyle chuckled a little. _"I still love and worry about you, Mom."_

She gave a small laugh of her own. "We're doing fine here. Just talking and such."

There was silence for a moment. Julia could have sworn she heard the distinct sound of Yelina requesting Kyle's help for something. And sure enough... _"Hey, Mom. I have to go. I'll talk to you later."_

Julia's voice was soft, sincere. "I love you, Kyle."

_"Love you too, Mom."_

The line went dead. Thunder boomed again, like the hands of God clapping together as hard as they could, and hail hit the rooftop like the constant rhythm of some instrument. Julia looked out the window and lay her head on the window pane. "I love you so much, Kyle," she whispered.

And with that, she took her head off the pane and grabbed her coat, shuffling out the door to her vehicle. She was going to go and see him again, no matter what Yelina said. And nothing was going to get in her way.

Nothing but the black car that silently followed her through the flooded streets of Miami, Florida.

* * *

**I'm back!... Okay, I'm slightly back. I'll be updating this as best as I can. There will be new twists, questions, and perhaps the shock of a lifetime in here. It's not what you think it is, either... someone makes a choice that will change their life forever. Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Emotion

**Well, here it goes again... Shiny's updating. I think.**

**Wow. Thanks for reviewing** speedfanatic05, ladyd10, princess moon shadow, cabot007, lily moonlight, PunkPrincess145, daxy, Ashley Moore, CSI Junkie Aly, FernClaw, Hope06, Jag Lady, CSIBabs, Blue Shadowdancer, Queen Sunstar, 3DGCSIMiamiGirl

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2. Emotion

It wasn't easy to get to the hospital, to be sure. The water levels were reaching near record highs, but it didn't stop the private investigator from getting to the place as best as she could. Yelina had ordered the boys to stay home and try to watch the streets for rising waters that could threaten to overtake the home at any moment. Both boys had reluctantly agreed to this notion, and the Columbian was now pulling into the parking lot to the hospital, clutching the wheel as if it could fall off any second. Thunder rumbled over the land again, and the woman sighed, moving into a parking spot and killing the engine. She leaned back in the seat for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should wait until she saw other people go in that she recognized or just...

Grabbing her umbrella from the front seat and opening the door as minimally as possible, Yelina put up it up and stepped out of the vehicle, thanking God that she had decided to wear her rain boats and not her typical high heels. Her feet sloshed through the puddles as she trudged through the waters, making her way to the front entrance. Lightning flashed across the skies again, and she urged her legs to move faster, hoping she wouldn't get struck because of some freak accident. She got under the pavilion and put down her umbrella, sighing with relief and entering the building.

The desk worker looked up from their paperwork and smiled politely. "Good afternoon, ma'am. May I help you with something?"

"Yes. I'm here to see Horatio Caine."

The woman looked through her folders quickly and smiled again, pointing down the hallway. "Fourth door on your left, please."

Yelina nodded and walked down the hallway, glancing down the way and realizing that she might have been silly in coming this early to come and see her former brother-in-law. But she needn't worried.

Natalia Boa Vista walked up to the investigator and smiled, embracing her tightly. She was wearing another teal-blue, silk shirt and a nice pair of khakis, but this was completely obscured by her yellow rain poncho. It was clear she had only gotten there minutes, even seconds before Yelina had. Her hair was an utter mess, but she looked as if she could have cared less at that moment. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she gestured her to his room. "Got here as fast as I could," she murmured. "Everyone else is trying to get here, too. Lucky for me I was only a mile away."

Her companion smiled, nodding. "Indeed you were lucky. The roads out there are damn near terrifying to be on right now."

The CSI nodded her head to the door. "You want to go in first? I mean, you're really close to him and everything..."

Yelina blinked, looking inside the room. Horatio sat there, staring out the window and heaving a rather large sigh. The woman gave one more look at Natalia before nodding and opening the door to the room.

Horatio looked away from the window, muscles tensed. He relaxed the instant he saw Yelina, his features creasing into a tired smile. "I thought you were one of the doctors," he admitted softly. "They're worried that if I had woken up screaming bloody murder, they would have thought something was wrong. And naturally..."

The woman gave a quiet laugh and pulled up a chair next to the redhead's bed. She was shocked at how weak he sounded and even more stunned at the fact that he had a strange look in his eyes. They seemed distant, yet full of fire and sadness. Her hand slipped into his own, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Shh. You're fine. You've been in a coma for the longest time, Horatio. And we've missed you so much. It's been nearly two weeks after you got shot, and times have changed." She looked into his eyes. "Horatio, the city has flooded. Almost everyone has evacuated."

"Where's Kyle?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low. The last thing Horatio wanted was doctors running in to see how he was holding up.

She gave a shuddering sigh. "He's at my house, Horatio. Ray and he are trying to make sure the house doesn't actually flood. That's why they're not here with me right now. But I promise you he is doing fine." Yelina cocked her head and looked out the window as well.

Horatio noticed something was wrong. "Yelina? What is it?" He tried to squeeze her hand, tears coming out of his eyes for no reason. "Talk to me, Yelina."

The private investigator looked back at him, scratching her head and looking worried. "Horatio, there's something else you need to know. It's about Kyle and his 'family.'"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, fearing the answer.

* * *

Damn rain. This was the worst part about Miami. It rained- and when it rained, it freakin' _poured._

Another clap of thunder was heard as Ron Saris leaned his elbow up against the window of the vehicle, following the car in front of him and sighing in exasperation. "You weren't supposed to leave the house, Jules," he mumbled under his breath, one hand on the wheel. "I dunno why the hell you're leaving in this weather anyways. There's nothing for you to do right now. Besides run away and see your dear old boyfriend... and Horatio in the hospital."

The car turned a corner, and Ron followed it, glancing over in the empty seat next to him. His lips curled into an evil grin as he eyed the gun in the seat next to him. He had been planning on using it on Horatio when he had gotten to the hospital, given that the first shot hadn't work. As he tried to keep up with the car in front of him, he heard a slight noise in the back, almost like knives scratching up against each other. His teeth grounded angrily as he moved the box behind him onto the ground and gripped the wheel tighter, watching the car make a u-turn. "Where do you think you're going, Jules?" he taunted softly, following her around the loop. "Home, I hope?"

As if in response, the car sped up as quickly as it could through the waters and made a swift turn back onto the same street it had come off. Ron huffed and rolled his eyes. This was going to be harder than he thought.

It was all thanks to a simple slip by one of the prisoners that allowed him to get out of jail. There was word that a food fight was going on in the cafeteria at the time, and Ron was in the place when it started. All alarms were going off, and all officers were to be on the lookout for apparent escapees. Somehow or another, Ron had managed to take out one of the guards with the help of four other guys and nab some sort of police garb that made him look... well, look like a guard. The rest, they say, is history.

So here he was- back on the streets with illegal weapons in his possession and one hell of a grudge against the Caines and the Winstons. As he watched the car pull into Julia's driveway. he parked the car across the street and watched the woman get out of the car and hurriedly walk back into the house. Thunder rumbled yet again, and Ron reached over to grab the gun.

But something told him he shouldn't use the gun. He should use a different weapon to make it look as if someone else had murdered the wealthy woman of the family. His mind burned with thoughts and ideas as he reached for the box in the back. He heaved it forward to the front seat and began to rummage through the collection of knives he had managed to gather over the past few years. Kitchen knives, armies knives, machetes- everything and anything that had a blade was now in his box.

Now it only became a matter of what weapon to use. So many toys to choose from, so little time to choose it in.

His eyes finally settled on one of the weapons in the box. Ron smiled.

After his little visit, there would be one down.

One down, two to go.

It wouldn't be like last time. Today, he wouldn't hesitate to commit murder on a family member. Not after all she had done to him. The pain, the suffering, the desire to be loved by her- it would all disappear. No more would he have to suffer the angst of seeing her, but not being married.

Chuckling lightly to himself, the wind roaring in his ears when he opened the door, Ron stepped out of his car into the flood-ridden streets and trekked up to Julia Winston's door.

* * *

**Yes, Ron had a really- more than likely- cheesy escape. -hands you scythe- Do what you want to me.**

**Fine, another cliffie. Listen, I'm sorry about not updating every other day, but I'm trying to work the suspense just a little longer this time. As I said, though, I want to finish this one by summers' end. I've got a lot to do this summer, so if you want more, feel free to leave a review. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Proof of Life

**Oh, my god. I am SO sorry I didn't update this in ages. I hit a point in which I didn't wanna do this, but I'm getting back inspiration little by little. Too many apologies for delaying this story... -is hit with brick nine times-**

**Thanks for reviewing and waiting** lily moonlight, 3DGCSIMiamiGirl, FernClaw, Ashley (EMPLG), princess moon shadow, Hope06, CSI Aly, Jag Lady, cabot007, speedfanatic05, Queen Sunstar, Le Pecore Nere, Wizard-in-Disguise, Blue Shadowdancer, Carrro, CSIBabs, Punkrincess145, ashley Moore, Geolina Bartilonee

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3. Proof of Life

Work meant going and doing his job. His job right now- chief's orders, mind you- was to go and check up on a certain lieutenant who was supposedly in a coma. He popped in a couple of aspirin and swore loudly as he drove through the rain, fingering at the idiot who had decided to cut him off to the on-ramp. He had his cell phone in the coffee holder next to him on vibrate. Thunder rolled across the land, and the skies looked to be getting _darker._ He pushed the gas pedal down a little more, shaking his head.

Things were looking worse than before.

Rick flipped open his phone and dialed in Julia's number, but he got no answer. The perky answering machine of the one he really loved left him wondering if something had happened, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. He saw the large building looming in the distance, a pit in his stomach forming. He hadn't seen the man since the day in which Alexx's funeral had been held. And even on that day, Horatio hadn't really spoken to him.

There had been some sort of unspoken wish that the two wouldn't talk about Julia when she was around. It wasn't that they didn't like each other about her- Horatio was just a little worried about Julia, to be honest, and the thought of Stetler being with her had made him more edgy than ever in the days before he had been shot.

And as he entered the hospital, his phone in hand and taking deep breaths, he felt the cold air blast him from warm and muggy to cool and not humid. It smelled of death and despair, and it took a lot of muscle for him to not cringe at the fact that he was inside a hospital again. Quietly, he walked up to the counter and flashed his badge to the nurse, who nodded and pointed down the hall. There was a sort of unspoken agreement between the receptionist and Rick… like a connection to see the lieutenant.

Quietly, the man walked down the hallway and saw Natalia looking inside the room, her arms crossed. He turned away from her slightly and glanced into another patient's room, feeling a bit of uncertainty creep into his mind. What if he wasn't supposed to be here? What if the team threw him out of the room for actually coming by to visit the man?

Too many what-ifs formed in his mind as he turned back to Natalia and stood near the window. She said nothing. Rick swallowed and stood there for a number of moments before the female CSI turned to him. Her eyes were soft. "You came here to see him, didn't you?" she asked quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just in time- Yelina went back home a couple of moments ago, Rick. I dunno what he'll think about seeing you, but…" She nodded to the door. "You may as well go ahead and go in."

He didn't move for a minute. His ears were ringing with Natalia's last words. "Boa Vista, why do you want me to go in right now?"

"I think you and him need to talk," she replied simply. With this, she walked over to the door and opened it for Rick, gesturing him inside.

Stetler stepped inside the room, and she shut the door behind him, leaving the two rivals in the room alone. Taking a deep breath to try and calm his nerves, he walked over to the bed of the redhead and sat down in the chair. He could still smell Yelina's perfume wafting in the seat, and he forced all thoughts of her and anything else from the past out of his mind. His voice came out surprisingly shaky. "Horatio. It's been a while."

Blue pierced green, and Horatio gave a slow nod of his head. "It has," he replied softly, his voice distant. "Three weeks, huh, Rick?"

"Something like that."

There was silence for a couple of moments. Stetler shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"How is it going with Julia?"

The Internal Affairs sergeant's head shot up. Horatio sounded tired; weary from the long rest he had been in for many weeks. There wasn't much fight in his voice with this question, but the passion that Stetler had grown so accustomed to over the past couple of years was still there. Rick smiled. "It's going great. I think we've really found something together. Life is just great between ourselves."

Horatio nodded, wincing. "You haven't…"

Stetler grimaced. "No, I haven't. You can ask her for yourself."

"Women sometimes don't tell the truth when being threatened by the male dominant figure," the wounded lieutenant rasped angrily.

The brunette could not help but chuckle a little. Yep- Horatio was coming back to his normal self. "Still pissed at me?"

Horatio grounded his teeth. "Always have been, always will be."

"Nice to have you back, too."

* * *

"Do you want to move some of the things from down here up to your room?" Kyle asked Ray as they began to pick up things from off the floor and setting them on the table. Water began to seep in through the outside pool deck ever so slowly, and the boys were beginning to get worried that the flood had arrived at their house.

Ray nodded. "Sure. Maybe that could be the PlayStation 2, the TV… I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind if we took those two things upstairs."

Kyle gave a shaky laugh as he picked up a couple of flowerpots off the ground and placed them on the table. "You have any idea of how to unhook the cords in the back, Ray?"

"A pretty good idea. You just unplug them, right?"

The other boy shrugged and looked at the bass system on the ground as more water began to leak into the house. He gritted his teeth quietly and nodded his head over to the system. "Why don't you say we get _this_ upstairs first, then come back down and unplug a bunch of this other stuff?"

Ray stood there for a moment pursing his lips before nodding and leaning over the large bass system. "Do you think there's a plug in the back?"

"You know this house better than I do!" Kyle shot back, his voice beginning to show signs of worry. "Didn't you hook up this system?"

He winced. "That was Uncle H's job."

"Damn!" Kyle took a deep breath and got on his hands and knees, resisting the urge to suddenly yell out in anger. "All right, all right. It can't be that hard, can it? I mean, you just unplug a bunch of cords and move this massive box upstairs and find a good place for it until the storms finally stop. Am I right?"

Ray nodded. "Yeah. Come on, we can do it!"

The son of Horatio allowed himself a small smile as he turned around the sound system. Ray was growing more and more fun to be around as time passed.

The smile was wiped right off his face as he looked at the mess of wires in the back of the device.

Ray had the perfect words for the situation.

"Holy _shit."_

* * *

He stood at the door, water up his pants, a knife in each of his pockets- that would be four of them in total- and a smile plastered on his face. He didn't care if Julia was happy to see him or not. And he frankly didn't care if anyone decided to try and get in his way to revenge once more. Julia was going to pay dearly for getting together with Stetler, even if it meant he had to die in the process.

Ron smiled, knocking on the door to the Winston residence, crossing his arms and waiting for a couple of moments. After around half a minute, the former woman of his life opened the door. Her eyes widened with terror, her mouth opening like a fish out of water. She tried to slam the door shut, but Ron placed a firm hand on the edge of the door and gave her a strange look. "Do you mind if I came in?" he whispered, eyes gleaming.

Julia tried once more to shut the door, her own voice trembling. "What do you want?"

"I want… you, Jules."

It was in that moment that Julia realized she was having a meeting with Death. Besides, he was standing right on her doorstep, gripping the door and holding it open with superhuman strength. Nodding shakily and feeling tears come to her eyes, Julia stepped aside and allowed Ron to come in. She shut the door then.

And in that motion, she sealed her fate.

Death had come for her… or so it seemed in her mind.

* * *

**Inspiration for this chapter came from the song "Calling to the Night" by Natasha Farrow. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please feel free to give me feedback. Thank you so much for reading!**


	4. Life

**Ladies, gents, Miami fans... guess who's back! And guess who brought along some nice juicy angst!**

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4. Life

The woman knew that she had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. As she watched him walk around the house with a smile plastered on his face, she recognized that he was anything but happy. And judging by the way he had forced her to allow him in, it was clear that he was ready to do whatever it took to get her back. Julia knew that this could have been the end of the line for her.

She took a deep breath and coughed lightly, allowing Ron to turn back around to see her. "So, what do you want to talk about?" she asked as calmly as she could.

He gave a small smirk and walked over to the couch, sitting down and stroking the armrest. "You know what I want," he purred lowly, giving her a seductive glance. He motioned her over and watched her figure walk over to the couch tentatively. "I want you back, Julia. I've wanted you back for so long."

"It won't work," she told him a little too quickly. "You know that. I don't love you. I'm through with running from the past."

The killer raised an eyebrow, fingering the knife in his hand. "Is that right? Jules, hanging out with your new boyfriend has put you in a completely different mindset. What happened to the old days? The days where you and I would get away with murder? The days with rich lawyers? C'mon, think about them!"

Julia glared at him. She didn't really enjoy where this was going, to be honest. "I told you, I'm done. There's nothing more that needs to be said." She stood up and looked out the window. "Look, what you don't understand is that Rick is able to give me something no one else could. He showed me love, compassion, understanding. He knows what I'm going through, what I had gone through in the past!"

"He doesn't know shit," Ron spat back, his finger nearly cutting itself on the edge of the knife. "And you'd do better without him!"

The woman walked over to the front door, her hand on the doorknob. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she tried to take a deep breath. He had become worse over the past few weeks. More insane, more obsessed. Julia swallowed and gripped the door handle. "Leave. You're not wanted. You're a murderer, and you tried to kill my son. Why would I ever love someone like that?"

He got up from the couch as well, advancing on her. "Because you don't have a choice."

Fear gripped her heart. _'Impossible…_'

"Come on, Julia. Let's have a little fun like the old days."

"Stay away from me!" she suddenly shrieked, bolting for the doorway into the living room. She heard a snarl and forced herself not to look backwards as she made her way into her room on the other side of the house. Blood rushed through her veins, giving Julia a sense of adrenaline she had never felt before. _'Did Horatio feel this against Ron?'_ she thought fearfully.

The footsteps behind her provided no comfort as she ran inside the bedroom and slammed the door shut, locking it in the process. There was a loud bang on the wooden shelter from her former boyfriend, and Julia fumbled around for her cell phone. Her heart seemed to stop- she left it out in the living room. _"Shit,"_ she swore angrily, another bang heard on the door.

"Julia Elizabeth Winston, you had better open this door right now!" Ron's infuriated voice traveled through the door.

She shook her head, mostly to herself. No. She wasn't going to. She couldn't stare Death in the face once more.

"If you don't, I'm going to _make_ you open it!"

Julia stared at the door with narrowed eyes. "I'd like to see you try!"

Three seconds later, she wished she hadn't said those words. The banging on the door became increasingly louder and louder. Julia's breathing got more and more ragged. Until…

The door suddenly flew open, and Ron stood there, panting like a man who had just run the 10K. His eyes glinted maliciously, one hand holding her cell phone, the other holding a knife. "You're going to wish you hadn't seen him," he whispered, throwing the phone at her and watching it land on the bed. "I swear to you…" His footsteps creaked the floorboards, rain lashing against the window.

The woman stumbled and fell back on the bed, her hand fumbling for the cell phone. Her fingers moved across the keypad like lightning, but it was only a stroke of luck that she hit the 'talk' button.

The caller on the other end was sure to only hear screams of agony and joyous laughter.

* * *

"Oh, come on, Horatio!" Natalia burst out finally as she watched the lieutenant stand from the bed. "This is…"

He gave her a steady look. "Natalia, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself now. Of course, I might have to wear a Kelvar everywhere I go, but a little extra armor won't hurt me." He winced slightly and put a hand to his chest. "Although this pain is going to have to take some serious getting used to."

The woman rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. This wasn't what she ever had in mind. The man hadn't even been up for ten minutes, and already, he was rearing to go. The talk with Stetler must have stimulated something inside of him if he was this anxious to get out of a hospital. "Look, no one else has even seen you!" she protested, gesturing out to the hallway. "Can't you wait a bit?"

"I'm waiting for them to see me on my feet," he replied, a twinkle in his eyes. "I can't go after Ron by myself again, you know."

"_Listen_ to yourself!" Natalia pleaded. "Horatio, I know you heard about the whole thing with him, but just…"

He took a deep breath, and she shut her mouth, noting the look of tired determination in his eyes. It was clear he was going to get his way, and no one was going to stop him. The CSI finally allowed her shoulders to sag and nodded resignedly. "You're ready to put him back behind bars, aren't you?"

Before he could answer, Natalia's cell phone went off. The woman looked down at the number and frowned. She flipped open the phone and was shocked to suddenly hear a scream. Her hand jerked the phone away from her ear, allowing the splitting decibels of human voice to be heard. Horatio frowned, looking at her in his typical sideways manner. She spoke into it. "Who is this?"

_"Oh, my god… someone help me!"_

There was a laugh on the other end of the phone. _"There's no way anyone can help you now, Jules. It's over!"_

More screams. The repeated sound of something piercing human flesh rang in both the teammates' ears.

And suddenly, it stopped. There was a loud noise of gleeful panting. Horatio said nothing, staring at the phone. Natalia spoke once more into it, her voice making every attempt to stay firm. "Ma'am, if you can hear me, say something. Anything."

The voice sounded weak. _"Please… someone… anyone… Winston home…"_

Then the call ended.

Natalia looked at the lieutenant, who merely stared down at the phone. She slipped the device back into her pocket. "Horatio?"

He glanced back at her, taking out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket. "The rains have only begun, Natalia. Except now, it's raining blood."

With this, he slipped them on and walked out of the room, a familiar fire of darkness surrounding his heart. Miami needed a hero again, and he knew it had to be him.

* * *

**Couldn't help myself. One-liner was needed. It actually pained me to do the whole Julia-Ron scene this time around. I kind of like how I've portrayed her... which leads me to another question. WinStet- does anyone like it enough for me to try and do a full-blown fic of it? Meh. Anyways, reviews are loved. Thanks!**


	5. A Blow to the Heart

**Uh… writer's block and lack of enthusiasm. Those are my only excuses. –is hit by a brick- Ouchies.**

**Thanks for reviewing** lily moonlight, Jag Lady, speedfanatic05, theAlyCat, Nabbeena, FernClaw, Geolina Bartilonee, princess moon shadow, CSIBabs, Carrro, mewpurin-chan, Mrs. Dacry1234, Hope06, cabot007, Wizard-in-Disguise, Scorpii, Blue Shadowdancer

* * *

5. A Blow to the Heart

Waiting for the rain to stop is like waiting for life to give you something you have deserved besides the clean air you had been breathing in only moments before. Waiting for the rain to stop is like asking for the faces of beauty to just appear on your doorstep, even though you already know that it will never happen unless you put forth some effort. Waiting for the rain to stop is like asking for the heavens to stop opening their arms to the earth and giving it the love it has yearned for.

He clenched the wheel of the car and stared straight ahead. The tense feeling in the car didn't really soothe the matter that he was out of the hospital now, and it was clear that the only thing on his mind was the scream he had listened to over the line. His companion looked out the window and gave a sigh of worry as she kept her eyes on the road. "Horatio, you don't think that…"

Natalia didn't finish her sentence. As Horatio pulled into the driveway of Julia's house, he killed the engine and didn't move form the vehicle for several seconds. Natalia listened to the rain pound on the roof while she waited for her boss to get out. Both sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Horatio reached into the glove compartment and opened it to reveal his Glock that hadn't been touched in forever. The woman yawned a little and stretched as he cocked the weapon. "You ready?"

"No," he admitted softly, opening the door and stepping into the large river of water rushing down the driveway. There was a splash on the other side as he shut the door to his side, his weapon out and ready. "I was never ready to see this."

Quietly, the duo snuck up to the door of the house. Horatio's hand went on the handle as he slowly turned it. The door opened with a creak, and Natalia stepped inside, her weapon in front of her immediately. Horatio crept in after her, shutting the door behind him and shivering slightly at the transition from rain to living room. Horatio went into the living room while Natalia took the kitchen area. Slowly they moved; making sure one was within listening range of the other.

Horatio's voice was scratchy. "Nothing out here. No blood, no weapons, nothing."

"I can't find anything in the kitchen either," Natalia called back, sounding anxious. "Something bothers me about this place, though. I don't know- it's got that aura that a terrible crime took place and it wasn't done anywhere except a single place."

The lieutenant stopped for a moment and sat on the couch, his gun in his left hand and his right hand on his knee. The young woman walked over to him and sat down. "I told you that you shouldn't have done this. Already, it's taking a toll on your body. Having to rest physically, being in disbelief emotionally- it's all going to snowball into something a lot worse than these storms will ever wreck havoc upon the city."

He glanced down at the floor, a small smile creeping onto his lips. "Natalia, I know what I'm going through right now. It's impossible to just try to jump right into the world after being in a coma for so long now. I feel like someone who was allowed to come back into the world after an eternal sleep, you know? The fact that Julia is probably dead is not a comforting thought to me at all. It's not because I love her- because I don't. I'm worried about someone else. Two other people."

She nodded. "Kyle and Rick."

"Bingo."

There was silence between them for several moments. He didn't move for several moments, and nether did she. Thunder crashed outside the window.

Horatio looked up and slowly stood, keeping his weapon at his side and eyeing the bedroom area. He cocked his head slightly, moving in the general direction of the master bedroom. Natalia followed suit, allowing her mentor first into the hallway once more. He stopped in front of the bedroom, the door closed in front of them once more. Closing his eyes, he let his hand rest on the door and pushed it open with a considerable amount of force.

He opened his eyes and looked inside the room, his heart dropping into his stomach.

Julia Winston lay on the bed, arms sprawled out like some fallen Hollywood actress that had been found dead because of an overdose. Horatio kept the gun lowered and simply stared at the body while Natalia holstered her own and walked over, taking a look at what had occurred. She pulled out a pair of gloves and quietly went about her work, examining the wounds on her body. "Countless stab wounds. Not going to know until the ME gets here, Horatio."

He placed his hands on his hips and pursed his lips. "Then let's get her here. We also need to talk to the last person who saw her. And I'm pretty sure I know who that person is."

* * *

"I hate wires," Kyle complained as he attempted to weave one of the bass wires out of the other PlayStation wire and toss it in the pile of other various pieces of string. "They're such a pain to untangle."

Ray nodded and grabbed the large bass that was hugging the wall and grimaced, heaving it up into his arms. "_Damn,_ this thing is heavy. Why do you have to do the wires while I carry up the crap to my bedroom? Can't we, like, switch off every so often or something?"

The other boy gave Ray a look and held up another mess of what appeared to be ten wires interconnected with one another. "You don't have to use your brain. I've got to sit here and finish these stupid wires because they're interwoven with those wires over there-" He pointed to the ones next to the stereo system. "- and those ones are mixed with the other wires behind the television!"

The song "Calling to the Night" began to play from Kyle's cell phone in his pocket. Frowning, he took it out and saw his father's number pop up on the screen. Sighing and opening his phone, he spoke with urgency, "Hey, Dad. I have a bit of a problem here, and it involves wires, floodwaters, and your nephew and I saving all electronic equipment from certain doom. Is this important?"

Horatio could be heard trying to keep his voice from choking up on the other end. _"Son, there's something wrong with your mother."_

The boy frowned, putting down the wires he was fussing with and watching Ray pant while walking back down the stairs. "What do you mean, there's something wrong with Mom? Dad, you sound like you're about to cry."

There was a sound of someone shuddering on the other end. "_I am."_

"What? Why?!"

"_Kyle, Julia's dead."_

Kyle said nothing. His ears began to ring as he took the phone away from his ear and let it slip from his hand. Ray bounded over to him in mere moments, crouching down next to him and giving him a look of worry. He picked up the cell phone and looked down at the screen, placing it on his leg. "What is it?"

Silence.

"Kyle, what happened?"

He spoke in a numb tone, like one who had no idea what had really happened at that exact moment. "She's dead…"

Ray blinked. "Huh?"

Kyle snapped the phone shut and felt his innards begin to melt with despair. The nephew scooted closer to his companion and put his hand on his leg. His eyes stared into Kyle's, trying to decipher what was wrong without asking questions… well, trying not to ask many questions. The eyes were too full of a swirling feeling of regret and pain, however, and Ray was forced to ask the teenager what had occurred, to ask who was dead.

Kyle's voice became equally, if not more, choked as his father on the phone. "Mom's dead."

It was then that he crumbled into a ball of hopelessness and began to sob hysterically. The one that comforted him was the one that he had befriended only a couple of weeks ago. They might not have known one another for very long, but it was in that moment of revelation that Ray and Kyle felt closer than brothers could have ever hoped to accomplish such a bond.

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**-falls over and looks completely shocked- Three months. It took me three stinkin' months to write this chapter, my fellow readers. If anyone is actually reading this thing still, please let me know. I don't know if I still have the touch or not. If I do, I will be **_**very **_**surprised. Thanks for reading this (long overdue) update.**

**And NO, there's not a cliffie this time. o_O; -brick'd again-  
**


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